Thai Village Life: Ban Phe Fishing Village Built On Poles

Rinks
03 April, 2023
2 mins ago

Tai O, a fishing town constructed on stilts by the Tanka people has remained mostly unchanged for almost a century. Read on to more about it.

People are reminded of the floating towns they would visit in Thailand's Phang Nga Bay, where families live in houses suspended above the Andaman Sea. Although cyclones are common we can’t ever understand why anyone would feel safe in a house supported simply by wooden sticks. Those with faint hearts should probably avoid this place. Yet, those who enjoy seafood are in luck. Here are some specialties about the fishing village that will excite you. Read on to know more.

Tai O Fishing Village

There is a Taoist temple in the middle of the little fishing town. Taoism is the original Chinese religion, predating even Buddhism. Its central tenet is that contradictory representations of the same principle are inseparable. The yin-yang pendant people wear as a fashion statement in fifth grade really has its origins in Taoism. It was a Taoist sign representing the cycle of life and death, as we learned in ninth-grade world history. Of fact, this is a very rudimentary explanation of this faith, but that's because the Taoist road or method, the tao, is beyond description. The Chinese followed elements of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, three old Eastern religions. Confucius writes that after meeting Lao Tzu, he was completely baffled by the father of Taoism: "Creatures that run may be captured in nets; some of those who swim can indeed be caught with wicker traps; while those who fly can be shot by arrows." Yet the dragon is beyond my comprehension; we have heard that it rides the wind and clouds to the heavens. Meet Lao Tzu today, and he is as fierce as a dragon! – From Houston Smith's The World's Religions, we have Confucius's view on what Lao Tzu must have been like.

Lao Tzu established Taoism

Many visitors flock to this temple in search of enlightenment. Faithful tourists cup two rocks-like items in their hands and hurl these into the air to watch where they land, much like playing darts in a game of life. Depending on the direction the rocks were facing, they would receive either a positive or negative response to their inquiry. It's a bit like a Crazy 8 ball in that you have to start again if the three rocks land in a particular configuration. The last stop is Silvermine Bay on Lantau, where you can catch a boat back to Hong Kong's Central Pier, and it is only an opportunity to see the city illuminate as the sunset.